The Newport music scene, in and around Wales' third city, has been well documented and acclaimed for cultivating bands, singers, and famous music venues. Newport has been traditionally a rock city since the 1970s, but it has evolved over the years to include forms of punk, 1990s alt-rock, and more recently metal and hip-hop.
In 2001 FHM described TJ's as "one of the Top 50 best nights out in the world, ever."[3] Newport is home to the UK's largest retailers of new LPs,[4]Diverse Vinyl, which was established in 1988.[5]
Newport became an alternative rock hotspot in the 1990s, when it was labelled as 'the new Seattle'[6] and credited for bands such as 60 Ft. Dolls, Dub War, Novocaine and Flyscreen.
Manchester-based film maker Nathan Jennings announced in 2017[7] that a documentary was in the works about the city's musical past and present, entitled The Rock of Newport.[8]
Newport Art College produced many later successes, but also drew a cultural scene to the city associated with its students and young people, such as Joe Strummer of The Clash in the 1970s. Groups linked to Strummer were established including RnB outfit The Vultures, The Gay Dogs,[9] and later many punk groups such as Cowboy Killers.[10]
The 1990s saw the rise of alternative rock and grunge in the United Kingdom. The now established Newport venues such as TJ's started to attract up-and-coming groups and artists, including many from the Sub Pop American label as they toured the UK.
The likes of Kurt Cobain and later Oasis either attended or performed in the city and groups such as 60 FT Dolls and Dub War were formed. The reputation was furthered when John Peel began to draw attention to the city's famed nightlife.
Newport currently has one radio station, Newport City Radio, which broadcasts online and previously over FM.
TJ's opened in 1985 on Clarence Place and became famous rock venue on the 'toilet circuit' of UK independent venues. Described by John Peel as "The Legendary TJ's", the venue was voted one of the top 50 'Big Nights Out' in the world by FHM in December 1997.[11]
Started by John (Johnny) Sicolo in 1971 with his wife Vivienne as a restaurant, he then expanded it with a neighbouring property to form the nightclub "El Sieco's", attracting local folk acts among others, becoming a popular local nightspot. It was then remodelled in 1985, renamed as TJ's, named after the initials of John and his late partner Trilby Tucker.
Sicolo passed away on the 14th of March 2010, aged just 66,[14] and a tribute concert in his honour was headlined by Goldie Lookin Chain in the city's John Frost Square on 10 July 2010.[15] On 15 September 2011, TJ's was sold at auction for £242,000.[16]
On 2 February 2013, the building was damaged by a fire, suspected to be arson.[17] The historic building remains empty in 2016.
In 2012, Sicolo's grandson, Ashley Sicolo, opened the 200 Club on Stow Hill, the decor for which included TJ's memorabilia and copies of TJ's gig posters. It went on to close in 2013 due to noise complaints,[18] reopening named El Sieco's on High Street in Newport city centre.[19]
Newport only received UK chart toppers The Smiths once. In 1986 lead singer Morrissey brought the band to the Newport Centre following the release of their widely applauded album The Queen is Dead, only to be mobbed by a throng of hooligans.
Writer Craig Austin described that "the delicate Stretford flower recuperated in the A&E department of the Royal Gwent Hospital (while the) frustrated audience responded to this perceived indignity by commencing the wholesale dismantling of the venue with undisguised rage. The band’s live sound engineer Grant Showbiz took to the stage to apologise on behalf of the band and promptly received a bottle in the face for his troubles.He was also taken to hospital, the police called, and six people eventually arrested. The Smiths were never to play either Newport or Wales again."[20]
2000s Newport saw much upheaval, as the decline of the city's steelworks and docks became further ingrained. While the College and nightlife remained, venues such as TJ's were forced to close, facing mounting debts, noise complaints, and many other issues that plagued similar venues and cities across the UK.
During the period of Cool Britannia, groups like Manic Street Preachers, Feeder, and The Darling Buds formed the Welsh alternative movement popularly known as Cool Cymru.
Most iconic for the city was the surprise success of Goldie Lookin' Chain, a hip hop outfit of forty-somethings reputed for their humorous views on South Wales life.[21]
Recent years have seen the particular revival of indie venues, with Le Pub moving to a new location on High Street, backed as a community co-operative and driven by the creative mind of owner Sam Dabb. TJ's was resurrected at El Siecco's but this didn’t last long at all and closed after just a few months later. The old TJ's on Clarence Place remains derelict and is awaiting sale, having experienced many failed sales and arson attempts. McCann's Rock 'n' Ale Bar also opened nearby.
The reopening of Grade II listed art deco building The Neon, formerly the Odeon Newport cinema, has offered a much needed venue for the arts, music, and events, in particular urban and hip hop performances which until recently were underserved in the city centre.
The re-surge in vinyl sales has also proved a boon for the city, with the growth of Diverse Vinyl as the UK's largest source of new vinyl sales in the UK. Music studios have also opened widely, with up and coming bands facilitated at venues like One Louder Studios in Shaftesbury.
Idles lead singer Joe Talbot was born in Newport in 1984, and his father was a friend of Joe Strummer during his early Art College years before forming the Clash.[22]
Nathan Jennings, a Newport-born but Manchester-based film-maker, confirmed in 2017 that a crowdfunding effort would begin to help launch a documentary about the city's music past.[7] Covering topics ranging from the city's role in the production of the Stone Roses single, "Love Spreads", to the gigs hosted by "Bowie, Bad Brains or Blondie to the likes of Oasis, The Offspring and Ozzy", it will make a case for supporting the future of Newport music focussed on an 'actively supported grassroots'.[8]
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